Morgan Library Trip

Morgan Library Private Tour

Magnificent Gems: Medieval Treasure Bindings

The Atelier at Flowerfield enjoyed a private tour of The Morgan Library's exhibition, Magnificent Gems: Medieval Treasure Bindings, on Saturday, December 9th. The tour was given by William Voelke, Senior Research Curator at the Morgan Library.

"On Saturday, December 9th, a brave group of passionate art and literature enthusiasts battled the snow and elements to be taken on a guided tour of The Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan by Senior Curator of Medieval Works, William Voelkle. Mr. Voelkle is retiring at the end of the year after 50 years of service, and we were indeed lucky to have his incredible encyclopedic knowledge and univided attention for several hours on this tour of the magnificent treasures and incredible art of the Morgan Library.

Next, Mr. Voelkle dicussed the McKim Mead and White building that houses J.P. Morgan's library collection. Coincidentally, Atelier instructor and artist Christian White, who was on the tour, is the great grandson of one of the major collaborators of the building, architect Stanford White. Mr. Voelkle talked about the the previous doors to Mr. Morgan's study that were removed and now reside at the White family home in St. James called box hill.

Both of these rooms contained murals painted by James Wall Finn, the grandfather of Atelier Board Member David Madigan. Mr. Voelkle and Mr. Madigan also discussed the details of Finn's ceiling murals in these 2 rooms.

It was a grand tour of an important American art and literature collection that Morgan collected over his lifetime. We are extremely grateful to William Voelkle for sharing his incredible wealth of knowledge on the Morgan and on the world of art and literature."

-David Madigan

"I was delighted to attend the Atelier’s tour of the Morgan Library with Senior Curator William Voelkle. It was a rare chance to get an inside view of many details of both the collection and the Charles Follen McKim masterpiece which is the original library building. I was especially interested to hear certain details about some of the intricately carved Circassian Walnut doors, and the decision to remove two of them, as they ended up at my family’s estate; Box Hill. I can only hope to participate in future fascinating events like this with The Atelier."

-Christian White

"As Atelier guests, we received both the VIP treatment and the insiders tour at the Pierpont Morgan Library.William Voelke, who curated this exhibition, Magnificent Gems, as our personal guide.Each piece in the exhibition was explained from an historical, artistic and gemstone perspective. And he kept it light with anecdotal stories. We were shown hidden staircases and the encoded telegraph his nephew sent him regarding purchase of a manuscript. On a dismal grey day this little gem of a museum dazzled us with her gems. Thank you, Kevin, and the Atelier, everything you do surpasses our expectations."